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Today in Apple history: Apple shows off its amazing Fifth Avenue store in NYC

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Apple's stunning Fifth Avenue store quickly becomes a New York landmark.
Photo: Simone Lovati/Flickr CC

May 18: Today in Apple history: Cupertino shows off its amazing Fifth Avenue Apple store May 18, 2006: The world — and, more specifically, the Apple-watching press — gets its first glimpse of the swanky new Fifth Avenue Apple store in New York City.

Hidden behind a black plastic wrapper during development, that all changes a day before the store’s grand opening. Workers remove the covering to reveal a 32-foot glass cube adorned with a floating, white Apple logo. At 10 a.m., members of the press get an exclusive tour of the new venue.

Coronavirus delays plan to support Apple Pay throughout New York metro system

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple Pay makes commuting hassle-free.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Plans to offer Apple Pay and other contactless payment options across the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s new OMNY fare payment system in New York have reportedly been delayed due to coronavirus, claims the Wall Street Journal in a report published Tuesday.

The publication says that completion of the scheme, which currently offers contactless payments at around half of the 472 subway stations, along with Staten Island bus routes, has been delayed by about two months. It was originally expected to be live across the board by October.

Apple debuts upgraded maps in New York City

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Apple Maps just got a New York update.
Didn't Apple tell us it loves New York?
Photo: Apple

Apple Maps users in the Big Apple just got a sizable update to their service. As part of Apple’s quest to challenge Google’s mapping services, Apple Maps now offers far more local detail in New York City. That includes extra details about buildings, roads and footpaths, parks, and more.

Thanks to iOS 13, users can also take advantage of the 360-degree, Google Street View-style “Look Around” feature.

New York City is going to be seeing a lot more of Apple

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Apple Maps just got a New York update.
Apple loves the Big Apple.
Photo: Apple

Apple is on the hunt for big new offices in Manhattan, aiming to increase its footprint in the New York City area.

According to a new report, Apple is searching for up to 750,000 square feet of office space. It has already looked at some of the most prestigious locations in the area. As of now, however, it’s not yet locked anything down.

New Yorkers will soon be able to use Apple Pay on the subway

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple Pay will go live starting this Friday.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Starting Friday, subway riders in New York City will be able to use Apple Pay to swipe in and out of turnstiles.

Apple Pay functionality will initially be limited to the 4, 5, 6 line between Grand Central-42 Street in Manhattan and Atlantic Ave-Barclays Center in Brooklyn. This is probably the most heavily trafficked subway line, and therefore one of the busiest venues Apple Pay has been rolled out as far as travel goes.

Apple could be planning another New York retail store

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Apple adds 5 new vice presidents to its executive lineup
Apple is close to finalizing a new real estate deal.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple is in “advanced talks” to lease space in the prestigious Hudson Yard complex in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.

The almost-completed 55 Hudson Yards office, which is part of the largest private real estate development in the United States by square footage, is home to hedge funds, major law firms… and, very soon, probably Apple, too.

Gang of thieves snatches $19,000 of iPhones from Apple Store

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Suffolk County Police
A frame of security footage from the raid.
Photo: Suffolk County Police

A group of hooded thieves snatched $19,000 worth of iPhones from a New York Apple Store late last week.

Five men were recorded on CCTV during the raid at the store in Huntington Station, NY. Police are offering $5,000 for any information that will allow them to apprehend the criminals.

Apple Pay’s ‘Lose your wallet’ promotion hits the Big Apple

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Lose Your Wallet
Apple has some great deals for New Yorkers.
Photo: Apple

Do you live (or plan to visit) New York? Use Apple Pay? If so, you may be interested to know about Apple’s latest “Lose your wallet” promotion, designed to drum up interest in its mobile payments service.

The promotion promises customers a range of exclusive discounts in New York neighborhoods including Greenwich Village, Nolita, Park Slope, and Williamsburg. Here’s some of the offers you can take advantage of:

Records confirm Apple is fighting the ‘right to repair’ bill

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Apple doesn't want users to perform repairs themselves.
Photo: Faris Algosaibi/Flickr CC

New York state records show that Apple has been lobbying hard against the Fair Repair Act, a bill that would force companies to sell replacement parts to customers.

Apple isn’t the only company opposed to the bill. According to New York State’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics, others include Verizon, Toyota, printer company Lexmark, heavy machinery marker Caterpillar, phone insurance company Asurion, medical device company Medtronic, and the Consumer Technology Association are also fighting against it.

Fifth Avenue Apple store to get Beats 1 broadcasting booth

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Beats 1 could soon be broadcasting from an Apple store.
Beats 1 could soon be broadcasting from an Apple store.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s iconic retail store on Fifth Avenue will reopen with a Beats 1 broadcasting booth after being renovated, according to a new report.

The booth could become a new home for Beats 1 DJ Ebro Darden, who currently broadcasts from another location in Manhattan — or it could host occasional musical guests.

New York district attorney calls for federal law to unlock seized iPhones

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iPhone 7 back
Law enforcement officials still want Apple to hack the iPhone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance wants the Trump administration to help create federal legislation requiring Apple and Google to remove default encryption from their smartphones.

The recommendation comes from the DA office’s second report on Smartphone Encryption and Public Safety, presented by Vance at the opening of the Manhattan DA’s new cyberlab. New York County is currently sitting on 423 iPhones it can’t break into, even with a warrant, so the DA’s office is pushing for change.

Flagship New York Apple Store site may get even bigger

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Apple's Fifth Avenue retail store opens in New York City.
Apple wants to expand its space in New York. It just doesn't want to pay full price to do it.
Photo: Apple

It may not have been the first Apple Store, but Apple’s Fifth Avenue New York retail outlet (a.k.a. the big glass cube) is almost certainly the most famous Apple Store in the world — and it may be about to get even bigger and more impressive.

According to a new report, while Apple is overhauling its iconic New York store it plans to occupy the nearby 61,000 square foot FAO Schwarz space in the GM Building, and may even consider keeping this space permanently in addition to its existing site.

Texting behind the wheel? N.Y. cops may have the tech to find out

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N.Y. cops may soon be able to instantly check if you were using your phone while driving.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Cellebrite, the Israeli tech firm which helped the FBI hack the iPhone 5c at the heart of the San Bernardino shooting case, is reportedly working on a “textalyzer” device that will allow authorities to find out whether a person as unlawfully driving while using their smartphone.

The device would initially be used in New York, where proposed legislation may let law enforcement officials access certain cellphone information — without a warrant — to find out whether drivers are distracted at the wheel.

Justice Department may be forced to disclose iPhone hacking secrets

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Your move, Justice Department!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The U.S. Department of Justice briefly gained the upper hand over Apple this week when it made it clear that it was in no rush to reveal how it hacked the iPhone at the center of the San Bernardino shooting case — thereby stopping Apple from plugging that particular vulnerability.

However, it seems that Apple’s back in the driving seat after a new report reveals that the Justice Department may be compelled to reveal its hacking methods if it wants to continue with a case asking a New York court to force Apple to unlock a different iPhone handset.

Justice Department hopes to overturn Apple’s privacy win in New York

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iPhone mobile encryption touch id
The government would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling iKids.
Photo: Olly Browning/Pixabay

The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to overturn a ruling protecting Apple from unlocking the iPhone at the center of a New York drug case. The recent ruling from a New York magistrate judge stated that the government can’t compel Apple to unlock an iPhone involved in a criminal investigation, using the All Writs Act.

So the decision must have been wrong, of course!

Bizarre obsession with Steve Jobs musicals continues

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Sing different.
Photo: Ben Stanfield/Flickr CC

The oddball collection of Steve Jobs-inspired musicals is set to gain another entry this month, as new “original pop-rock musical” The Crazy Ones makes it debut at 54 Below — the supper club beneath the legendary Studio 54 — in New York City.

Taking its name from a line in Apple’s iconic “Think Different” ad campaign, the musical tells the story of a young Steve Jobs being driven out of Apple — although the wording on its press release makes it sound oddly like the trailer for a 1980s horror movie.

Peek inside the just-opened Apple Store Upper East Side

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Once a bank, the building at 940 Madison Ave. in New York's Upper East Side is now a swank Apple boutique.
Once a bank, the building at 940 Madison Ave. in New York's Upper East Side is now a swank Apple boutique.
Photo: Shinya Suzuki/Flickr CC

A New York building that once housed a bank has been transformed into a pristine Apple boutique. The Apple Store Upper East Side opened Saturday morning, giving a swarm of shoppers a chance to try on an Apple Watch in the former bank vault.

There’s no question that when you walk into this store, it’s to buy something high-end and fashionable. Take a look at the Instagram photos taken during today’s grand opening.

Upper East Side Apple Store will open June 13

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Apple's classiest New York store yet?
Apple's classiest New York store yet?
Photo: Flickr/krystyl cc

If you’re in and about New York after June 13 you’ll have an extra Apple Store to check out, since that marks the date when Apple will open its new retail location on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Signage was put up overnight, revealing that customers have just over two weeks to wait until construction is finished on the impressive 4,000-square foot upmarket retail outlet.

Not that everyone’s happy about it, of course.

Microsoft copies Apple with Fifth Avenue flagship retail store

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Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Microsoft has copied (or “been inspired by”) many, many Apple innovations over the years, and now it’s set to copy the location of its most famous Apple Store of all.

That’s right: the Windows maker is set to open up shop with a retail store just blocks from Apple’s iconic Fifth Avenue glass cube. The new “flagship” Microsoft Store will move into a location previously occupied by Fendi.

“This is a goal we’ve had since day one — we were only waiting for the right location,” Microsoft’s corporate vice president for retail stores said in a statement. “And now we have it.”

Steve Jobs called Sports Illustrated’s 2009 iPad demo ‘stupid’

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Steve Jobs at Apple iPad Event
Steve Jobs wasn't a fan of news leaking out about future products.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Is it any wonder that Steve Jobs — who transformed Apple from an incredibly leak-heavy company during the 1990s, into one of the most secretive tech companies in existence — hated word getting out about his future products?

While bloggers and other reporters could get harsh treatment from Apple, however, it was loose lips on the part of actual Apple partners that really threw Jobs into a rage.

An anecdote from a new story about Time Inc. in this week’s New York magazine illustrates this, by relating how Jobs responded to Time Inc. releasing a YouTube video showing how its publications might survive the digital age, by harnessing the possibilities offered by the iPad.

The problem? Apple hadn’t yet announced the iPad’s existence.

Swift bootcamp teaches NYC coders Apple’s new programming language

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If you’re a New York-based coder or wannabe coder looking to learn Apple’s new programming language Swift, you may want to check out an upcoming evening tech workshop organized by software development firm TurnToTech.

With the next session taking place Monday at their 5th Avenue offices, the number of spaces available has just been upped to allow more people to attend.

New Yorkers can learn Apple’s new programming language for free

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Are you based in New York City and looking to learn Apple’s new programming language Swift for free?

If so, you may be interested in participating in a tech workshop organized by software development firm TurntoTech in their offices on 5th Avenue. Close to 900 people have already RSVP’d for the how-to — which kicks off this Wednesday. Demand has been so great, in fact, that organizers have had to break the course into three different classes to accommodate all respondees.

The first Swift class will be held this Wednesday at 6:30pm ET, with the second being held the following Wednesday at the same time, and the final one to be held June 23.